Play/athletic training appliance

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a play/athletic training appliance, which is characterized in that it comprises at least two essentially parallel horizontal rods and a board for standing. The board is turnably arranged with at least two wholly or partly enclosing means, one for each rod. The board is further movably arranged relative to the rods by the wholly or partly enclosing means.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/611,348 filed Sep. 20, 2004 from which priority is claimed, and is hereby incorporated by reference.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a play/athletic training appliance. The appliance is in the first place intended for use in playgrounds and similar environments, but can also advantageously be used as a training appliance.

Many outstanding sportsmen today perform their training on a ground that is very flexible, for instance training sessions in swamp-like environments. This type of training yields a greater effect on the actual training result. It is time consuming and relatively difficult to find suitable environments for this type of training.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The appliance according to the invention offers to some extent a possibility of such training. The appliance comprises rods constituting a track on which a board for the user to stand on is movably arranged. The track is arranged to be resilient and the user moves back and forth on the track by means of the board. The play/athletic training appliance provides a different and new approach by means of which the user rhythmically moves back and forth along a track and which:

-   -   provides a feeling of moving on a flexible base     -   offers a possible element of competition     -   satisfies all security requirements placed on a play/athletic         training appliance.

The play/athletic training appliance comprises at least two essentially parallel horizontal rods and a board for standing. The board is turnably arranged with at least two (wholly or partly) enclosing means, one for each rod, and the board is movably arranged relative to the rods by the (wholly or partly) enclosing means.

The play/athletic training appliance offers an element of playing and training in which coordination, rhythmic, motor behavior and balance are trained and in which fine motor ability and technique beat brute force.

The foregoing and other features, and advantages of the invention as well as embodiments thereof will become more apparent from the reading of the following description in connection with the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings which form part of the specification:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the play/athletic training appliance according to the invention,

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of a part included in the appliance,

FIG. 3 shows obliquely from below the appliance in the assembled state,

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the appliance in FIGS. 1-3, and

FIG. 5 shows the appliance according to a second embodiment of the invention.

Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description illustrates the invention by way of example and not by way of limitation. The description clearly enables one skilled in the art to make and use the invention, describes several embodiments, adaptations, variations, alternatives, and uses of the invention, including what is presently believed to be the best mode of carrying out the invention. Additionally, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

The play/athletic training appliance according to the invention comprises at least two rods designated 2 in the drawing. The rods 2 are advantageously arranged parallel to each other so as to form a track. By “parallel” is here meant parallel with a deviation in terms of tolerances. The rods 2 are arranged horizontally relative to a base. By “horizontally” is here meant horizontally with a deviation of ±10°. In a further embodiment, several pairs of rods 2 can be arranged next to each other.

The rods 2 can be comprised of, for instance, some kind of tubular blank or be wholly or partly solid. The rods 2 can also advantageously be circular in cross-section, but can also have a square cross-section or the like. The arrangement of the rods 2 satisfies all safety standards that are applicable to playing appliances. According to the safety standards, there must be at least 230 mm between two parallel elements in order to prevent a child's head from getting caught between the rods 2. In the track according to the invention, the rods 2 are placed in parallel at a distance of about 250-300 mm between each other, preferably about 285 mm. It goes without saying that this distance can be varied within the safety standards according to needs and wishes. The two or more rods 2 which constitute the track are preferably of the same length and have a length of about 1-5 m, preferably about 3 m, but may of course be both shorter and longer according to needs and according to how much room is available. The rods 2 can be made, for instance, of stainless steel, hard metal, rigid plastic or similar hard materials.

The play/athletic training appliance further comprises a board 4 for standing. The user stands on one side of the board 4 and the other side is intended for the rods 2. The board 4 is preferably a polyurethane cast plate with inserts of wood/sheet material or the like. The board 4 is also reinforced by, for instance, a stainless steel sheet or the like on the side intended for the rods. The board 4 can also be made of other materials, such as entirely of wood or like materials. On the side of the board 4 intended for the rods 2, two sleeves are arranged. The first sleeve 6 a is fixedly arranged in the board 4 and the second sleeve 6 b is arranged between roller bearings 8 with the function of two wheels, see FIG. 2. The sleeves 6 a, 6 b are provided with pivot bearings 10. The sleeves 6 a, 6 b are further connected to each other by means of a telescoping device 12 comprised of two tubes, one telescoping in the other, or some other model according to prior art. The telescoping device 12 takes up the change in length that occurs when the board 4 is angled relative to the rods 2. The telescoping device 12 together with the roller bearings 8 makes it possible to vary the distance between the sleeves 6 a, 6 b.

At least two means 14 are arranged for the sleeves 6 a, 6 b, see FIG. 4. The means 14 connect the board 4 to 5 the rods 2. The means 14 are enclosing and can be wholly enclosing and can comprise of, for instance, tubular sleeves or similar elements. In another embodiment, the means 14 can be partly enclosing and then be comprised of, for instance, open tubular sleeves, snap fasteners or the 10 like.

When the sleeves 6 a, 6 b comprise pivot bearings 10, the attachment of the means 14 to the sleeves 6 a, 6 b is articulated. Owing to the pivot bearings 10, the enclosing means 14 are pivotally arranged relative to the board 4.

In another embodiment, the enclosing sleeves 6 a, 6 b may comprise separate units. To reduce the risk of squeezing, the means 14 are provided with bearings 16, which also makes it easier for the user to move by means of the board 4 along the rods 2 of the track. The bearings 16 may be comprised of slide bearings, roller bearings, ball bearings or the like.

The board 4 is movably arranged relative to the rods 2 by the means 14. A means 14 can be arranged on each rod 2. For the function to be intact, however, it is necessary to provide a clearance between the enclosing means 14 and the rod 2. The clearance 18 is preferably about 4-7 mm. The clearance 18 can be adjusted to achieve an optimal function without reducing the safety. In one more embodiment, the clearance 18 can be fixedly arranged.

The rods 2 are further connected to connecting elements 20 which are turnably attached to fixed mounting points, for instance to the ground in a playground or the like. The rods 2 are also spring-suspended by spring suspensions 22 either directly in the rods 2 or indirectly by means of the connecting elements 20. The spring suspension 22 is a rubber mounting with a torsion spring, but may also be some other type of spring suspension 22, for instance, a hinge suspension where the spring action is achieved using a loose hinge. When subjected to a load, for instance when a user walks by means of the board 4 on the rods 2, it will thus be possible to make the entire track move in depth, which provides the feeling of moving on a flexible base.

Two tracks which comprise the two rods 2 can also be arranged at an angle, so that the goal will be one and the same post, thus resulting in an interesting element of competition. Start and finish of the track 2 comprises of a surface 24 for standing, which advantageously is made of a friction material, such as Ekogrip or like material.

In another embodiment, the board 4 is formed with two opposite parts 26 a, 26 b which together form the wholly or partly enclosing means 14, see FIG. 5.

The present invention has now been described by means of a number of embodiments, and it should be understood that various modifications and supplements can be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the claims. REFERENCE NUMERALS Rod  2 Board for standing  4 Sleeves First  6a Second  6b Roller bearing  8 Pivot bearing 10 Telescoping device 12 Enclosing means 14 Bearing 16 Clearance 18 Connecting element 20 Spring suspension 22 Surface for standing 24 Opposite parts 26a, 26b 

1. A play/athletic training appliance comprising: at least two essentially parallel horizontal rods; a board upon which a child can stand, the board being turnably arranged with at least two wholly or partly enclosing means, one for each rod, the board being movably arranged relative to the rods by the wholly or partly enclosing means.
 2. The play/athletic training appliance of claim 1 wherein the rods are interconnected by connecting elements, which are turnably attached to fixed mounting points.
 3. The play/athletic training appliance of claim 2, wherein the rods are spring-suspended directly or indirectly by the connecting elements.
 4. The play/athletic training appliance of claim 1, wherein a fixed or adjustable clearance is obtained when the enclosing means are slipped on to the rods.
 5. The play/athletic training appliance of claim 1, wherein the enclosing means are connected to each other.
 6. The play/athletic training appliance of claim 1, wherein the enclosing means comprises tubular sleeves.
 7. The play/athletic training appliance of claim 1, wherein said board comprises: two opposite parts which together form the enclosing means. 